Canada's Organic Science Cluster

Activity F.4: Innovative herbicide and fungicide replacement strategies for organic apple production

Objectives:

Short term objectives:

1. Develop orchard floor management practices for HoneycrispTM apple to improve tree health, increase productivity, and control pests without the input of chemical herbicides.
2. Reduce fungicide usage for apple scab control from 8-14 foliar applied sulfur sprays per season to1 or 2 trunk injection applications of non-toxic plant resistance inducers or elicitors.

Long term objectives:

The long term objective of this project is to provide organic apple growers with weed control technologies and a scab management strategy that will increase their profitability and sustainability while dramatically reducing the pesticide load on the environment, reducing carbon emissions  improving soil, water and air quality.

 

Learn More:

• Activity Summary
• Background and Supporting Documents
• Activity Researchers

Interesting Results to Date:

• NEW!! Orchard Floor Management Affecting the Performance of Young Organic ‘Honeycrisp’ Apple Trees
• Stay tuned for additional reports, newspaper articles, and extension bulletins related to this activity.

 

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